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LONDON — World oil prices nosedived on Friday, hitting three-month lows as a disappointing US non-farm payrolls report sparked fresh concern over energy demand in the world's biggest crude consuming nation. (snip) In later afternoon deals on Friday, Brent oil stood at $112.27, down $3.81 from Thursday's closing level, while WTI traded at $98.25, down a hefty $4.29.

I just watched this on ABC. California (Berkely) was playing the University of Tennessee (at Cal). The conversation happened around 5:50 local time. Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, and the sideline reporter named Lisa were discussing a bunch of Berkely students who were living in trees outside the stadium. Lisa: "Well Brent as you were mentioning, about those folks up in the trees, the reason that they're so upset is that, the University of California, has proposed a $125 million dollar project. They want to build a training facility for the athletes here at the University of California, and they want...

A former D.C. cab driver pleaded guilty today to conspiring to support a Pakistani group on the U.S. terrorism list by attending one of its training camps, officials said. Mahmud Faruq Brent, of Gwynn Oak, a Baltimore suburb, was arrested in 2005. He had been scheduled to go on trial on April 24 along with two New Yorkers and a Florida doctor. During a hearing in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, Brent acknowledged that he attended a Lashkar-e-Taiba training camp in 2002, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in New York. The Islamic guerrilla group is fighting...

SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices fell in Asian trading Tuesday after losing nearly US$2 a barrel in the previous session amid easing concerns about the possibility of more production cuts by OPEC members. The contract dropped 3 per cent overnight in New York as traders discounted threats of output cuts and focused on high U.S. oil product inventories. Despite reduced refinery runs, traders were expecting to see a build in U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks in weekly petroleum supply data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy. Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped 11 cents to US$60.92 a...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil surged to a record high near $76 on Thursday on renewed worries over supply from major exporter Nigeria and as conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon heightened international tensions. Prices also rose as the Iran nuclear row appeared to be heading to the U.N. Security Council, North Korea walked out of talks with South Korea and crude inventories in top oil consumer the United States fell more than expected. "Geopolitical risk is out of control," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. "There's a pipeline attack in Nigeria, Israel is taking a strong...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil prices retreated Monday as traders took profits following recent gains and amid easing worries about Iran's nuclear dispute after the country's top nuclear negotiator expressed optimism that the standoff can be resolved peacefully. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 37 cents to $73.72 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The drop came after oil prices had climbed for most of the last two weeks, reaching an intraday record of $75.78 a barrel on Friday before settling back at $74.09. The Brent crude contract for August fell 27 cents to...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil fell almost 1 percent to below $70 a barrel on Tuesday, pausing to watch the season's first Atlantic storm as it weakened along a route that will take it well clear of U.S. energy installations. Iran's reluctance to give up its atomic program, unrelenting violence in Iraq and strong demand signals from China all lent the market support, keeping prices up 15 percent this year and within sight of their record high of $75.35. U.S. light sweet crude for July fell 69 cents to $69.67 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending Monday's $1.27 slump. London Brent...

SINGAPORE -- Oil prices jumped Monday in reaction to a threat by Iran's supreme leader that his nation could jeopardize the world's oil supply if the West punished Tehran over its nuclear program. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose $1.02 to $73.35 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore. The contract rose Friday to $72.33 following the kidnapping of eight foreigners working on a drilling rig off the coast of Nigeria. The workers were released Sunday. July Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures rose $1.03 to $72.06 per barrel. Iran's...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell $1 on Monday to a six-week low as concern that inflation may slow economic growth encouraged selling across commodities markets. U.S. crude was trading 98 cents lower at $67.55 a barrel at 0819 GMT after falling more than $1 to its lowest level since April 10. Brent crude was down 84 cents at $67.85. The drop added to a slide of nearly 5 percent last week after signs that the record cost of many raw materials was pushing up the cost of living and hitting consumers' pockets. Rising inflation may force central banks to...

Singapore - Oil rallied above $72 a barrel on Monday, extending a rebound towards record highs as Iran maintained a defiant stance in the face of possible UN sanctions and militants detonated a car bomb in Nigeria. US light, sweet crude zoomed 54 cents higher to $72.42 a barrel by 06:40 GMT, adding to a 91c gain on Friday that helped limit last week's losses to 4.4%. Trading was thin due to holidays in much of Asia and Europe. IPE Brent crude was up 43c at $72.45. "Most people appear to be very nervous and are looking for something to...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased Thursday after U.S. government data showed motor fuel demand weakening, apparently in response to higher pump prices. The data also showed that domestic inventories of gasoline shrank for the eighth consecutive week, and that may have moderated the selling, analysts said. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Wednesday at $71.93, down 95 cents. Brent crude for June delivery on London's ICE Futures changed hands at $72 a barrel, down 9 cents. Gasoline futures dropped 2.10...

LONDON - Oil hit a record $74 a barrel Wednesday on fears Iran's intensifying dispute with the West may hit oil supplies and after U.S. gasoline stocks dropped. London's Brent crude settled $1.22 higher at $73.73 a barrel after peaking at a record $74. U.S. gasoline stocks slumped more than 5 million barrels last week, government data released Wednesday showed. It was a larger fall than analysts polled by Reuters expected, and supplies are now nearly 5 percent below last year's level. "The EIA (inventory) data are bullish in light of expectations," said Kyle Cooper, analyst at IAF Advisors in...

Dubai Mercantile Exchange Oman has agreed to supply crude oil to back the planned launch of the Middle East’s first oil futures contract. The government of Oman is working with the new Dubai Mercantile Exchange to launch the crude futures contract this year as oil prices in other markets stand near record levels. The decision by Oman, one of the few Middle East producers not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a significant step forward for the DME, as it gives potential users of its crude oil contract the option to take physical delivery or settle financially....

NEW YORK (AP) - A bookstore owner and a jazz musician agreed soon after the Sept. 11 attacks to try to help terrorists in Afghanistan buy weapons and communications equipment to fight American soldiers, the government charged Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Hou said Abdulrahman Farhane, 51, and the musician, Tarik Shah, 42, spoke with an FBI informant about the plot in Farhane's bookstore in December 2001 "while the ruins of 9/11 were still smoldering." The prosecutor asked that Farhane be held without bail on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and trying to cover up his...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Monday on persistent supply fears tied to Iran's tense diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions and militant attacks in oil-rich Nigeria. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 53 cents to $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian electronic trading. The contract on Friday rose $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel. Heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $1.8185 a gallon while gasoline gained 2 cents to $1.7564 a gallon. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose 49 cents to $66.73 a barrel. Prices also rose...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather along the U.S. East Coast spurred hopes that this year's Northern Hemisphere winter could be warmer than expected, weakening demand for heating fuel. Light, sweet crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 34 cents to US$57.02 a barrel in Asian electronic trading. The contract fell US$1.36 to settle at US$57.35 a barrel Monday. In London, January Brent fell 53 cents to US$54.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In recent weeks, the market has been fixated on weather patterns in the northeastern U.S.,...

SINGAPORE - Oil futures fell nearly a dollar, dropping below $58 a barrel, as forecasters predicted warmer weather early this week in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, easing fears of a spike in fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 86 cents to $57.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading late afternoon in Singapore. In London, January Brent crude rose 29 cents to $55.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. "The market's reacting to forecasts that heating oil demand will be 20 percent below normal this week, giving...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather. U.S. crude fell as low as $56.82 a barrel in electronic trading, its weakest since July 21. It was trading down 2 cents at $56.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending an 11-week slump that has wiped 20 percent or nearly $14 off prices. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $55.15. Although some analysts continue to predict a turnaround once temperatures fall and if OPEC opts to cut...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday as an International Energy Agency official said high pump prices have hurt fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to US$57.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Monday rose 16 cents to settle at US$57.69. In London, December Brent crude fell 8 cents to US$54.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. High oil prices have started dampening global demand and the slowdown in consumption growth could in turn push prices lower, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Agency's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures opened the week slightly higher, briefly rising above $58 a barrel, on predictions a cold snap was headed for the northeastern United States, the world's biggest winter heating fuel market. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as 57 cents to $58.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping to $57.78. The contract fell to $56.93 a barrel last week before closing at $57.53 Friday. December Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was 20 cents higher at $55.19 a barrel. Friday's close was the benchmark contract's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures slipped further below $58 a barrel Friday amid reports of rising supply and falling demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 9 cents to $57.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading in Singapore. On Thursday, the contract fell to $57.80, the lowest level for the front-month contract since July 21. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data that showed natural gas in storage grew more than expected last week, surpassing a level that many analysts believe is necessary to meet winter demand. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil prices held steady just below US$60 a barrel on Wednesday after predictions of warmer weather in the United States sparked a big drop two days earlier. Market experts said prospects for rising demand could keep prices at current levels. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 5 cent to US$59.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where a day earlier they had fallen nearly US$1.50 to a level about 15 percent...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil shed nearly a dollar on Monday, sinking below $60 after Hurricane Wilma bypassed storm-battered U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. light crude fell as low as $59.56 a barrel, the lowest since July 28. It was down 93 cents by 0922 GMT to $59.70, reversing a gain of 61 cents on Friday on fears Wilma could hinder the recovery of oil operations in the Gulf. Prices were 16 percent below the record-high of $70.85 a barrel struck in late August in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. London Brent crude lost 96...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $1 a barrel on Tuesday as a threatened hurricane was expected to miss rigs and refineries in the U.S. Gulf and the world's top banker said record prices were eroding demand. U.S. crude lost 98 cents to $63.38 a barrel by 1125 GMT, after a gain of 2.8 percent on Monday. London Brent crude was $1.06 down at $59.51 a barrel. Tropical Storm Wilma gained strength in the Caribbean Sea and was expected to become a full-blown hurricane, but its path was set to shift east toward Florida and away from the heart of U.S....

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil climbed back above $62 on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency said it saw no lasting damage to demand that has pushed producers and refiners to the limit and could lead to fuel shortages this winter. There have been signs recently that persistent high prices are taking their toll on the economies of the world's big consumers. Hurricanes that battered U.S. Gulf rigs and refiners catapulted oil to new record highs, finally crimping fuel use. But the IEA, adviser to 26 industrialized nations, forecast demand growth would quicken to 1.75 million barrels per day next year...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Thursday, dipping to their lowest level in two months after U.S. government data showed a drop in oil demand in the world's largest consumer. U.S. crude futures for November slid 19 cents to $62.60 a barrel, having earlier traded as low as $62.23. London Brent crude was down 32 cents to $59.80. Oil prices have fallen sharply from their August 30 record high of $70.85 on signs that soaring costs are eroding demand, offsetting fears over tight supplies in the wake of hurricanes that toppled production platforms and shut...

SINGAPORE -- Oil prices slipped Tuesday after the U.S. government indicated it might release emergency stockpiles of heating oil to combat supply disruptions from recent hurricanes. But energy futures were not expected to continue their retreat for long, analysts said, because a U.S. petroleum inventories report due later in the week was likely to show that Hurricane Rita hurt supply ahead of the coming Northern Hemisphere winter. Midmorning in Singapore, light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 16 cents to $65.31 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 77 cents to settle...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil held firm above $66 a barrel on Thursday stoked by fears that hurricane-wrecked U.S. refineries would be unable to churn out ample heating fuel to warm American consumers this winter. But Europe was riding to the rescue again, booking tankers of gasoline and heating oil to move transatlantic to help prevent a full-blown fuel crisis in the world's biggest oil consumer. Strikes in France, a leading U.S. oil products supplier, meant French refiners might sit on the sidelines. U.S. crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 6 cents at $66.41 a barrel by 1000...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil raced toward $68 on Thursday as Hurricane Rita bore down on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production and forced six refineries in Texas to shut down. Companies scrambled to close facilities and evacuate staff as Rita, now a maximum Category 5 storm, aimed her 175 mph (280 kph) winds on Texas, home to a quarter of U.S. refining capacity. It is expected to hit land by early Saturday. "Rita will remain the market's focus ... unless it unexpectedly breaks apart. But with it being such a fierce storm we wouldn't play the short side of...

 SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed more than 1 percent on Monday as a new storm system appeared to be headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast, and as OPEC ministers appeared to favor leaving crude output unchanged for now.U.S. light crude rose 78 cents to $63.78 a barrel as the season's 17th tropical storm formed near the Bahamas and OPEC members leaned toward taking no immediate action on extra supply. London Brent crude jumped 93 cents to $62.74 a barrel. Those gains helped prices rebound from a near $2 fall on Friday, which took oil to its lowest close in...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil eased further below $65 on Friday on fears that record high prices are undermining global demand, overshadowing nagging worries about refined fuel supplies in the United States, the world's top consumer. U.S. light crude was trading down 26 cents at $64.49 a barrel by 0515 GMT, extending a loss of 34 cents on Thursday. London Brent crude slipped 16 cents to $63.50 a barrel. U.S. prices have fallen sharply from a record high $70.85 on August 30, just a day after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, toppling oil platforms and shutting down refineries. Oil's...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices slid in post-holiday trade on Tuesday, while Brent crude was steady as industrialised countries began to release oil from emergency stocks to make up for U.S. output disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. Fears that the aftermath of the storm could dent consumer confidence and trim U.S. economic growth also weighed on prices, while battered Gulf of Mexico refineries began to restart. U.S. light crude fell $1.03, or 1.5 percent, to $66.54 a barrel by 0508 GMT, following London Brent crude's $1.22 losses on Monday when U.S. trade was closed for a holiday. Brent crude edged...

SINGAPORE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures surged more than $4 in opening trade on Monday, hitting a new record high above $70 a barrel after Hurricane Katrina forced Gulf of Mexico producers to shut in more than a third of their output. Katrina, which strengthened into a rare, maximum power Category 5 hurricane as it spun through key oil and gas fields toward New Orleans, shut in a total 633,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to company figures on Sunday. It also forced the closure of seven refineries and a major U.S. crude import terminal. Crude oil...

NEW YORK (AFX) - Crude oil futures surged to an all-time record high Wednesday of $67.30 usd per barrel in New York, as supply fears were heightened by Tropical Storm Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico. The price hit at 1830 GMT eclipsed the prior record of $67.10 usd hit earlier this month. The market was digesting a mixed set of data on US inventories showing increases in crude oil but lower gasoline stockpiles. The mixed data 'sort of canceled each other out,' said Marshall Steeves at Refco. 'The market was already up before the inventories data.' Traders were watching...

IN THE 5300 block of Gwynn Oak Ave., which is right here in America, life goes on. The roofers are back on the roof, the neighbors are mingling on the sidewalk, and a mailman is approaching the home rented by Mahmud Faruq Brent, who has just been accused of connections to international terrorism. ....You want a better picture of Americana, you can't find it anywhere - ...The neighborhood still feels like Norman Rockwell could comfortably pull out his paintbrushes here....In front of one, the Greater Remnant Church of God in Christ, a sign declares: "Caution. Slow down. God is at...

The federal charges lodged this week against Mahmud F. Brent read like a thriller, filled with tales of a clandestine FBI sting operation in a Maryland hotel room, terrorism training camps in the mountains of Pakistan and shadowy connections to al-Qaida. .....According to court papers, Brent, a 30-year-old West Baltimore man who drove a cab in Washington, conspired to help the armed wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based religious organization labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. government. Brent, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Orange, N.J., outside Newark on Thursday afternoon and brought to New York. About the same time,...

A Maryland man was charged with conspiracy to help a terrorist organization after he boasted that he went to Pakistan, attended terrorist training camps and agreed to provide whatever assistance was necessary, prosecutors said Thursday. Mahmud Faruq Brent, of Gwynn Oak, Md., was charged after a New York musician arrested on similar charges in May agreed to meet with him and let the FBI record the encounter, according to a joint release by federal prosecutors, the FBI and New York police. Brent was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan with conspiracy to provide material...

BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Maryland man with conspiracy to provide information to terrorists. The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York said Thursday afternoon that Mahmud Faruq Brent, also known as Mahmud Al Mutazzim, is in federal custody in New York. He was arrested Thursday in Newark, N.J. Brent, of Baltimore, faces charges of conspiring to provide resources to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been linked to bombings in India, from 2001 through the current year. Federal authorities, along with the Baltimore Joint Terrorism Task Force, searched Brent's northwest Baltimore residence following the arrest. Federal...

A Maryland man was charged with conspiring to help a terrorist organization after describing the time he spent at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan as "one of the better decisions in my life," prosecutors said Thursday. Mahmud Faruq Brent, of Gwynn Oak, Md., allegedly boasted that he had agreed to provide whatever assistance was necessary. Authorities began investigating Brent after they found an address book with telephone numbers for him when they arrested Tarik Shah, 42, of New York. Shah pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges earlier this summer. Brent was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal...

NEW YORK (AP) - A Maryland man was charged with conspiring to help a terrorist organization after describing the time he spent at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan as "one of the better decisions in my life," prosecutors said Thursday. Mahmud Faruq Brent, of Gwynn Oak, Md., allegedly boasted that he had agreed to provide whatever assistance was necessary. Authorities began investigating Brent after they found an address book with telephone numbers for him when they arrested Tarik Shah, 42, of New York. Shah pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges earlier this summer. Brent was charged in a criminal...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil rose above $62 a barrel on Wednesday, just shy of its record high, as expectations of tight U.S. supplies and disruptions added to concern over the long-term stability of Saudi Arabia after the death of King Fahd. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery was up 16 cents at $62.05 a barrel in Asian trade, within striking distance of the all-time peak of $62.30 set on Monday, after hitting a high of $62.08. London Brent crude was at $60.83 a barrel, up 21 cents from Tuesday and also near its record high of $60.98. The firmer...

Bush faulted on postwar planning REUTERS WASHINGTON - An independent assessment of the tumult in Iraq led by two top former presidential advisers found that the Bush administration was unprepared for postwar Iraq and underestimated the number of troops needed in a miscalculation that helped fuel the insurgency. The report by a Council on Foreign Relations task force, released Wednesday, concluded that the failure to prepare properly for the period after the war had given "early impetus for the insurgency" now gripping the country. The task force was headed by two former national security advisers, Democrat Samuel "Sandy" Berger and...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose above $60 on Friday to their highest level in more than two weeks as refinery fires in the United States revived fears of tight supplies. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery was up 45 cents to $60.39 a barrel in Asian trade, off an earlier high of $60.42 triggered by news of a fire at BP's giant Texas City refinery, the country's third-largest. Prices were just 2.7 percent below record-highs of $62.10. London Brent crude was up 50 cents to $59.26 a barrel. BP said the fire at a 60,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) residual...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid below $59 a barrel on Monday as worries about damage to U.S. oil and gas facilities eased following the passage of Hurricane Dennis. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 75 cents to $58.88 a barrel, extending losses of $1.10 on Friday. London's Brent crude shed 83 cents to $57.37 a barrel. "People perceived that the hurricane may not be as damaging as Hurricane Ivan. That's why people are taking profits, but the true extent of the damage is not known yet," said Tony Nunan, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp.'s international energy business. Hurricane Dennis...

WASHINGTON - Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Friday, reversing course late in the day as traders booked profits following a runup predicated on the fear of hurricane-related supply disruptions. Early on, crude futures prices rose as high as $61.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with traders shrugging off the shock of the London bomb blasts and focusing instead on Hurricane Dennis' approach in the Gulf of Mexico. Traders fear a repeat of last year's Hurricane Ivan, which damaged oil platforms and resulted in months of lost production in the region.But the rally lost steam...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped to a record high above $61 on Thursday as the year's first hurricane threatened already reduced U.S. Gulf production, stoking fears that an active storm season would hamper winter stock-building. U.S. light sweet crude for August delivery hit a high of $61.63 a barrel in early Asian trade, having broken above $61 for the first time on Wednesday. It was trading at $61.51 by 0734 GMT, up 23 cents. Brent crude oil in London climbed 22 cents a barrel to $60.07 after hitting a record high at $60.26. Oil prices have gained some 9...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices held above $60 a barrel on Tuesday as speculators sought to test the resilience of strong world demand and as Iran's presidential election sowed fresh geopolitical worries. U.S. crude futures, which hit a record $60.95 on Monday, were trading 26 cents lower to $60.28 a barrel. Futures closed above $60 the first time since trading started in 1983. London Brent crude slid 33 cents to $58.97 a barrel after hitting a record $59.59 on Monday. Dealers said markets were pausing after U.S. crude crossed the $60 psychological barrier but the bull run would resume. A...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices leapt one percent to a record above $60 a barrel on Monday as robust U.S. demand appeared undaunted by soaring fuel costs, threatening to strain global production capacity later this year. U.S. August crude oil futures traded as high as $60.47 a barrel, up 63 cents, extending a rally that has added 12 percent to prices in two weeks and 39 percent since January. Oil was up 61 cents at $60.45 a barrel by 0216 GMT, surpassing the $60 mark for the first time since it began trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices soared to a record high above $59 a barrel on Monday, extending last week's surge as a threat against Western consulates in OPEC-member Nigeria jolted traders already worried about tight supplies. Oil climbed more than 9 percent, or nearly $5, last week, drawing buying interest from trend-following hedge funds as prices surpassed the previous early April high. U.S. light crude for July delivery hit a front-month record $59.18 per barrel, before paring gains to stand up 59 cents at $59.06 at 0439 GMT. The August contract rose 62 cents to $59.80 a barrel and contracts...